From Mercenary to King

Chapter 109: The Mercenary Bureau’s First Request (23)

It was a small outpost, but how many hardships and difficulties had he faced to build it up?

Bartrok knew that the moment it was lost, there would be no comeback for him. A handful of troops, especially those composed of former bandits, would not be able to block Shatien’s mercenary company.

‘I shouldn't do anything useless and just stay flat on the ground….’

Negotiations, after all, were only possible when there was something to give and take.

Now, the scales had already tipped severely. Bartrok realized his situation. It was time to give up everything and wait for the opponent's generous treatment.

“W-What do you want from me? First, I’ll tell you everything as you ask. Please just don't touch my base.”

Therefore, Bartrok made up his mind to confess everything.

“Hmm. That depends entirely on what kind of information you give. If it's valuable enough…. I will guarantee your request.”

“A-Are you serious!”

“Yes. I’ll stake my name, Shatien. The weight of honor is not light. Bandit leader.”

“Understood. T-The information I have is definitely very valuable.”

If he said that much, there was no reason not to believe him. The story of Shatien releasing the bandit knight Renalf was widely spread among the rebels. Even Renalf himself had evaluated Shatien as ‘a knight who is as violent and rough as an elf knight, but still knows how to keep his honor.’

“I’d gladly believe that. Go ahead and speak.”

“Understood. Then…. Actually, Balud right now is….”

Bartrok slowly moistened his mouth and poured out the stories of late. And as the story continued, Shatien’s expression grew increasingly serious.

‘The Balud I knew and that Balud were different? It turns out Waldheim was actually Balud’s older brother….. He must be burning for revenge.’

This was quite a problem.

He had accumulated such intense resentment without even knowing it. Furthermore, if this Balud was the Balud from the original history he knew, his ability alone would be enormous.

Actually, it was already enormous.

“You’re saying he united the bandit groups and peasant rebels of the other northern regions?”

“Yes. Balud tied us scattered ones into one.”

“How?”

“W-Well… by reviving our forgotten customs and traditions…. and by uniting against the unfair treatment from various labors and the parishes.”

“There must have been people who rebelled against that decision?”

“As far as I know, he led a small elite force and crushed them all. Thanks to that, most of the bandit groups went under Balud, and the peasant rebels were all won over on the pretext of distributing the parish’s property.”

His head throbbed.

To think he could resolve such matters in a short time without the rumors even spreading that loudly.

By now, it wasn't just a simple small scale rebel force, but a rebel power capable of fighting against a decent lord.

If one combined the nearby rebel villages and bandits, couldn't they pull together thousands of troops?

‘I thought the war would finally end quickly after killing Waldheim... that was a stupid thought.’

Rather, the war was only now beginning in earnest. What a naive thought it had been. Shatien felt like a fool for no reason.

“Then is the delay in supplies sent from Osulheim recently also your doing?”

“C-Cough. I did loot them occasionally but…. Ack!”

“What? You son of a bitch!?”

The elf knight who had been listening quietly suddenly grabbed Bartrok’s neck, perhaps because his temper flared up.

It was because the hardships he had suffered due to the lack of supplies came to mind.

Bartrok’s face turned bright red as if it were about to burst.

“Cough, cough! Save me. I was wrong. But I didn't loot that much. Truly!”

However, Bartrok’s excuse only fueled the anger of the elf knights.

“Look at this shameless bastard?”

“You didn't loot much? Then why did the supplies heading to us get cut off completely?”

“Fine. It must have all gone into your stomach? I should try opening it up once?”

“No. Sir! Sir Shatien! Let's raid that bastard's base. There must be enormous supplies piled up there.”

Shatien, unable to watch any longer, sighed and stopped them.

“Calm down. At a glance, that's not a base that can hold the materials to supply our unit. It’s a hundred at most, so how much could it hold?”

“Hmm…?”

“Come to think of it... that’s true?”

Only then did the elf knights calm down, letting their heated anger subside. They were truly beings who flared up like fire and died down just as quickly.

“Consider yourself lucky, bandit.”

“If it weren't for Sir Shatien, your head would have been cut off immediately. Hmph.”

Shatien wore a bitter smile and looked at Bartrok again.

“But that doesn't mean we have a reason to believe your words. There's no way there aren't other bandits like you attacking the supply lines separately, is there?”

“Hmm?!”

“That’s also true?”

Then the expressions of the elf knights turned fierce again. They were truly gullible.

Shatien ignored them and glared at Bartrok. It seemed Bartrok hadn't told the most important story yet. He had to find that out.

Sure enough.

“There might be such bold ones, but no! I was assigned to this area for now. Sir Knight.”

“You were assigned? So you’re the commander of operations in this vicinity?”

“Yes! Yes! I am the only one who can move the forces in this area right now. I truly did loot some supply lines, but that wasn't the main task.”

“Ha, for mere bandits to be so grand.”

“A regional commander. Good grief.”

“Is it some kind of kingdom?”

Considering the current situation where things were fragmented into small manors and everyone moved only within their own circles, it was a nonsensical story. A truly grand story.

That was why everyone was snorting like that.

But Shatien couldn't just keep laughing.

‘It means they aren't just a simple united alliance, but are forming into a single unified power?’

This was getting more and more serious.

Where did they get the manpower and resources for that? You can't just incorporate forces under you without a reason.

A whip always has its limits.

There must be a carrot for when they follow.

Then Bartrok, glancing at his surroundings, slunk his words along.

“They've acquired the northern supply warehouse of the Holy Empire. There were vast supply materials there, and Balud is exercising enormous influence based on that right now. In fact, my mission was also to block the road to the Empire’s supply warehouse in this area.”

“?!”

“Looted the Emperor’s supply warehouse???”

As expected, there was a reason.

A foundation for that bastard named Balud to unite forces so quickly and command them with such order.

Shatien felt that this war would likely go on for a very long time.

* * *

“Hmmmm. This is crazy! Shatien! Do you believe everything he said?”

After sending away Bartrok, who had confessed everything, Miles asked back in the silence.

There was deep distrust and shock in Miles’s voice, for Bartrok’s words were indeed hard to believe easily.

This wasn't just Miles’s thought. Branch Manager Marhen, Centurion Jenga, and the elf knights, who had participated and heard the story together, were of the same opinion.

“If it's true…. it's a huge problem for Viscount Ragnarsson. Although the possibility is too low. Isn't it likely a lie he told to confuse us and stay alive? Hnng.”

“Sir! It’s probably a lie. There’s no way he’d have that kind of guts.”

“That's right, it makes too little sense. Shatien. Aren't they just bandits? Bandits taking the Emperor’s supply warehouse and uniting rebels? Haha, seriously.”

Centurion Jenga shouted as if it were absurd. But Shatien’s thoughts were different.

“Isn't it a matter that will be found out immediately if we send someone anyway? Why would he tell a lie that will obviously be caught? He would only die. We’ll have to send scouts to check, but we should probably move while assuming it's true.”

“Mmm….”

Everyone let out a low groan at those words.

Because it made sense when they heard it. That meant they had to move while keeping in mind that the bandit’s words were true.

“Hmm. What are you going to do? Shatien?”

Centurion Jenga stepped forward as the representative and asked Shatien. He was asking for an order regarding the future schedule. This wasn't just Centurion Jenga.

Everyone in the meeting room was waiting for Shatien’s decision. It was as if no one would raise an objection. Shatien’s authority was becoming more solid day by day.

Of course, Shatien felt a heavy sense of responsibility accordingly.

“Hmm. For now, let's send scouts to that Emperor’s supply warehouse base to check, and then return to Holsten to report to Viscount Ragnarsson.”

“I suppose. Our numbers are too few for us to attack by ourselves.”

The number of mercenaries currently in operation was about 700. Balud, who occupied the Emperor’s supply warehouse base, would have stationed an army of at least 1,000 men there. They couldn't attack with just this many.

“Furthermore, from what I hear now, is the supply situation in Holsten poor? Hnng.”

“That's right. Only about 30 percent of the volume that should be coming in is arriving.”

“Then we should go to the Viscount even faster. Our guild will also do our best to help.”

“Haha. Thank you. Then everyone, prepare to move.”

“Yes!”

Once the decision was made, there was no reason to linger. Everyone immediately rose and began preparing to move while checking their subordinates.

But just then, Branch Manager Marhen approached cautiously, glancing at her surroundings.

“Um…. could we talk for a bit?”

“Huh? About what?”

“The story from a moment ago. I wanted to talk about that.”

The story from a moment ago?

Did she mean the supply issue by any chance? Fortunately, she seemed to.

Branch Manager Marhen looked at the tilting Shatien and continued.

“It’s a bit suspicious that the supplies are bad.”

“Suspicious in what way…?”

“Clearly, that bandit leader Ba… Ba….”

“It’s Bartrok.”

“Yes, Bartrok. According to Bartrok’s words, they are currently busy looting and managing the Emperor’s supply warehouse base. That means it’s difficult for them to mobilize troops to interfere with the supply lines, doesn't it?”

“Hmm…. Yet you find it suspicious that the supply lines keep being blocked?”

“Yes. No matter how much they’ve united, their scale won't be that large. Since the scale of the supply units for moving supply materials is quite large, an ordinary force wouldn't even dream of attacking them.”

It made sense.

The troops currently stationed in Holsten exceeded 3,000. To provide materials to such a force, the number of supply units was also substantial.

Yet, they hadn't heard of any such large scale rebel movement until now.

“Certainly…. there aren't many stories about such engagements……. only situations where delays occur.”

“That's right. That’s exactly what I wanted to say.”

Only then did Branch Manager Marhen smile brightly, pricking up her ears as if they were finally on the same page.

“Based on my experience of organizing merchant groups several times, the current supply process is not very smooth. It looks like someone is playing tricks.”

“Hmm….”

It was truly a shocking opinion.

The words of Branch Manager Marhen.